Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016 set off howls of indignation across the literary spectrum. Everyone from bloggers to bestsellers weighed in on why Dylan — while universally acknowledged to be one of the greatest songwriters of all time — had no place in the pantheon alongside Faulkner, Hemingway, and Beckett. Dylan's refusal to travel to Stockholm to accept the award in person only fanned the flames of resentment and bewilderment.

We've all been hungry in a new place, scrolling indecisively through the results of a 'Google: food near me' search. You know you're not quite in the mood for a burger and fries, but unsure about which Pho restaurant is the best for a first timer.

So this week on Ask Code Switch, we're gonna whip up some wisdom for a reader who's in search of the best food from different cultures.

After all, superhero comics love teams of angsty teens. They love juicy villains. So when, in 2003, writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Adrian Alphona created the comic Runaways, starring a group of angsty teens who discover, to their horror, that their parents are secretly super-villains, you could practically hear the sound of thousands of comics readers slapping their heads. ("Why didn't I think of that?")

Pixar's newest animated movie, Coco, is meant to be a love letter to Mexico. The movie has a Latino cast. It's full of Mexican music, culture and folklore — including some of the traditions around the Day of the Dead. And it premiered in Mexico, where it's gone on to become the No. 1 film of all time. Now, audiences in the U.S. can see it.

What a treat to see Julie Maroh once again writing about young love! It's hardly an unexplored topic, but the French artist has a knack for making it crackle. In her 2010 graphic novel Blue Is The Warmest Color, the emotions that sparked when the main characters locked eyes practically burned up the pages. That book was far from perfect, but it was easy to see why it won such wide acclaim and inspired an award-winning movie.

This week, former Vice President Joe Biden spoke with NPR's Michel Martin, promoting his new book that reflects on his late son Beau's battle with brain cancer. During the interview, Biden also told NPR he has "no plans" to run in the 2020 presidential election.

Although Martin and Biden's conversation touched on many topics, it was apparent Beau's memory and presence continue to be at the forefront of his mind.

Along with his book, family and 2020 election prospects, NPR asked about Anita Hill's allegations of sexual harassment against Justice Clarence Thomas.

Azzedine Alaia, the French-Tunisian designer known for his figure-sculpting fashions, has died at 77, the French Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion confirmed on Saturday.

In his more than four decades in the fashion industry, Alaia gained a reputation for going rogue; he refused to follow the calendar of international fashion weeks and released his collections only when he was ready. He rose to fame for his body-hugging designs that celebrated the female form.

When playwright Sarah DeLappe was growing up, she loved war movies. So she decided to write a play that was like a war movie – but about girls soccer.

The Wolves opens at New York's Lincoln Center on Monday. As the lights come up, nine teenage girls are in a circle atop a green expanse of artificial turf, stretching before a match. And they're all talking at once.

John Banville has written a novel that is at once an epochal act of imitation, salutation and imagination. He's taken Isabel Archer, Henry James' protagonist in his 1881 novel The Portrait Of A Lady, and painted a portrait beyond that classic frame. The result is a sequel, Mrs. Osmond, in much of the manner of Henry James.

By day, Liz Climo works on the animated TV show The Simpsons, where she's a character artist and storyboard revisionist. Off the clock, she draws comics of cute animals with human aspirations — some of which have been gathered into children's books. Her latest is called Rory The Dinosaur Needs A Christmas Tree.

Given all the time she's spent illustrating members of the Simpson family, we thought we'd ask her about Jessica Simpson — the pop star.

Hoaxes work when we want them to. These longings can be benign: think of Herman Rosenblat's beautiful, fake story about a girl who kept him alive by throwing apples over the fence of a concentration camp, and meeting her years later on a blind date. Who wouldn't want to believe a love story like that?

One of America's most coveted dining experiences is a 40-seat restaurant in a converted grist-mill in the rural village of Freedom, Maine.

Chef Erin French, who is self-taught, opened the Lost Kitchen in her hometown of Freedom without much of a plan. She loved the space, and at first thought she would make English muffins and offer brunch, not convinced that the village of just over 700 people could become a dinner destination.